Lawyers for the Atlanta officer charged with Rayshard Brooks’s murder want the district attorney to recuse from the case, according to a Monday report.
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard charged former officer Garrett Rolfe with felony murder after Rolfe allegedly shot Brooks during a DUI investigation in June.
“Paul Howard has systematically sought to deprive Garrett Rolfe of a fair trial and impartial jury since the day he announced his decision to arrest Garrett Rolfe,” Rolfe’s lawyers, Noah Pines and William Thomas Jr., said in a court filing, according to the Associated Press.
The lawyers said in the court filing that Howard has made contradictory characterizations of Tasers, the Associated Press reported.
Fulton County district attorney charged six Atlanta police officers for using a Taser to remove college students from a vehicle in June, according to ABC.
“A Taser is a deadly weapon under Georgia law,” Howard said, weeks before the Brooks shooting, according to a Fox News video.
“A taser is considered as a deadly weapon under Georgia law.” — Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard pic.twitter.com/PnsejmhkUr
— ForAmerica (@ForAmerica) June 18, 2020
However, Howard has claimed Brooks “did not pose an immediate threat of death or serious physical injury,” despite allegedly firing a Taser at Rolfe, CBS News reported.
#Atlanta‘s police department has released bodycam footage of the moments leading up to the shooting of #RayshardBrooks, outside a restaurant in the city on Friday night. pic.twitter.com/fFgVVBX3rj
— Ruptly (@Ruptly) June 15, 2020
The court document also stated the district attorney’s remarks about the case have antagonized public sentiment, according to the Associated Press report. Howard called the actions of the officers involved with Brooks’s death “unreasonable” before official charges were filed, Fox News reported.
The attorneys noted that Howard faces an investigation himself. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation launched a probe in May into accusations of Howard’s financial misconduct, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The district attorney allegedly misdirected more than $140,000 in taxpayer funds to his personal salary. Howard currently faces sexual assault allegations as well.
One of Rolfe’s attorneys repudiated a claim in June that Brooks was “running away” from the officers when he was shot.
“Mr. Brooks was not running away,” Lance LoRusso, Rolfe’s attorney, told Laura Ingraham. “Mr. Brooks turned and offered extreme violence toward a uniformed law enforcement officer. If he was able to deploy the Taser, it would incapacitate Officer Rolfe through his body armor…”
Georgie Bureau of Investigation has claimed it “was not consulted” on the charges levied against Rolfe and was not notified about Howard’s plan to announce the charges in a press conference, according to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation Facebook post. The organization hadn’t finished its report of the shooting incident before the warrants were issued. (RELATED: Georgia Bureau Of Investigation Says It Was ‘Not Consulted’ On Charges Against Officer In Rayshard Brooks’ Death)
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